Ontario's child-care agreement is poised to fail low-income children and families

Ontario's child care policy now creates a universal, flat-fee child care for medium and high-income families but doesn't guarantee subsidies to low-income families. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Many parents, economists and and child-care advocates celebrated the signing of Ontario’s early learning and child-care agreement with the federal government at the end of March.

The agreement means a substantial infusion of federal government funding to allow an immediate 25 per cent reduction of child-care fees, followed by a further reduction to 50 per cent at the end of 2022. A final reduction to an average of $10 per day is set to happen by 2026.